A pretender in Oz
by JayVitolo
Summary: Nothing to do with the Pretender. Short and I figured somebody needed to write one.


A Pretender in OZ by JayVitolo  
  
Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with The Pretender. I don't own the characters involved. Don't sue my poor college ass.  
  
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It all happened so fast. Jarod confronted the evil man, but received a blunt shock for his troubles and research. The world spun around him and color faded to black. Then he woke up in a field. As far as he could tell, or as much as the migraine would let he think, he was out for seconds. His watch tells a different story however. He was in the conflict at 3:30 pm Thursday, now it is 7:13 am Wednesday. Either he's in the future or in the past, either way his head is pounding.  
  
"What the hell?" Jarod rubs his head as he comes to a sitting position.  
  
He looks around and frowns, green grass as far as the eye can see. A pleasant sight, but it doesn't help him figure out where he is. Only thing he can do is walk towards the road behind him. Upon closer inspection, they are yellow bricks. Yellow bricks? He smirks as he remembers the torment he put Broots, Sydney, and Parker through the day he met Zoe. They must've wanted to strangle him. He shrugs at the thought as he walks down this yellow path.  
  
"Um, excuse me." Jarod stops and looks around. "Hello? Is anybody there?"  
  
Jarod looks at the side of the path to see a person sitting there. The man stands up and looks Jarod in the eyes. "Who are you?" All Jarod can do is shake his head as he stares at this person.  
  
"I asked you a question." The man walks towards Jarod with a weird look on his face.  
  
"You mean you don't know who I am, Argyle?" Jarod smiles, the guy finally has no idea who Jarod is. Peace at last.  
  
"How do you know my name?" The bizarre man keeps looking at him.  
  
"Forget it. My name is Jarod."  
  
"Ah. Jay-Rod. Gotcha. So where you going?"  
  
"I'm just trying to find my way home." Jarod shrugs and looks at the ground. "And my family."  
  
"That's easy. Go to the Emerald City. That's where I want to go."  
  
"Wait, Emerald City?" Confusion strikes Jarod's face. "I've heard of this before."  
  
"Yeah, Jay-Rod. You see, there's this wizard there who can grant you anything. You name it, he'll give it to you." Argyle smiles as he continues. "I want a brain."  
  
A chuckle escapes Jarod. "Yeah the Argyle I know needs one too. Well, which way do we go?"  
  
The scarecrow looks around quickly. "You know, I think we go that way." He points to the left.  
  
"Then we head right." Jarod grabs his arm and pulls him to the right as they head off.  
  
The two keep following the road as they hear somebody complaining. The voice gets louder as they get closer to a little house. Jarod is shocked to see who is making the commotion. The person he sees is no other than Miss Parker and she's acting the exact same way she does in real life.  
  
"Hey Parker." Jarod walks towards her with a grin on his face.  
  
"Don't move." Parker spins to face Jarod with her gun drawn. She looks from Argyle to Jarod with her gun directed at Jarod. "What the hell are you two freaks doing here?"  
  
Argyle is the first to speak. "Me and Jay-Rod here are off to see the Wizard of OZ. I'm going to get a brain."  
  
"Trust me boy, you need one." Parker takes her eyes off the man on her right and looks at Jarod. "And what about you Freak Boy?"  
  
Jarod can't stop laughing causing Miss Parker to get pissed. "Tell me, what the hell is so funny? Haven't you ever seen a pissed off woman with a gun before?"  
  
"Honestly, I have. But you just remind me of somebody else." Jarod wipes a tear from his eye as he finally stops laughing. "My name is Jarod and I'm going to see this Wizard to get home."  
  
"Like I care. I was just on my way to get a heart from that guy. Like it or not, you two have a new companion; but once I get what I want, I'm out."  
  
"Fair enough." All Jarod can think of is how much this Miss Parker is like the version he knows. What in the hell is going on?  
  
The three people have no idea an unknown person was watching them from the shadows. This person keeps staring at the group in front of his as they continue to walk. "Little do you know, you'll never make it to the wizard. All three of you will die here." A squeaking noise is heard as the unknown man walks in the same direction as the group. "Your next stop will be your last."  
  
"Hey! Get out of my woods!!" A voice is heard blasting from a wooded area. "Didn't you hear me? I said leave!"  
  
The man jumps out of the woods directly in front of Miss Parker's gun. Jarod notices the person slip backwards as the thought registers in his head. "Broots?"  
  
"Wha, what? How do you know my name?" The man looks up at Jarod from the ground.  
  
Miss Parker puts her gun back in the holster as she sighs. "It seems our boy genius here knows all of us."  
  
Jarod lets a grin invade his face as he prepares to introduce everybody. "This is Argyle ad this is Miss Parker. My name is Jarod and we're going to see the Wizard of Oz."  
  
"Really?" Broots stands up and dusts his pants off. "I was just about to go there too."  
  
"What for?" Argyle poses the question in everybody's mind.  
  
"For some courage."  
  
Miss Parker looks at him and let's loose with a cold glare. "You don't say. I would've never guessed you needed courage. Hope in line little man."  
  
"Ye, yes Miss Parker."  
  
Jarod shakes his head at this display. She's more like my Miss Parker, than my Miss Parker is.  
  
"Hold it." The voice booms from behind the small group as a squeaking noise is heard. "You're coming with me." A gun is pointed directly at Jarod as he turns around.  
  
Jarod looks shocked. What the hell is Raines doing here? Argyle grabs Jarod's shoulder out of panic. "Who's that?"  
  
"Raines." Jarod's voice is a low grumble as the name brings back a sense of pain.  
  
Miss Parker detects this. "So you do know everybody. Now tell me, Wonder Boy, how we get out of this predicament." Her gun is pointed at the man standing across from her.  
  
Jarod leans close to Miss Parker and whispers in her ear. "Shoot the tank by his leg."  
  
She grins as her gun releases a shot into the man's tank causing an explosion. The man instantly catches fire but Jarod puts it out before any permanent damage can be sustained. Parker grabs his arm. "What the hell did you do that for?"  
  
Jarod looks into her ice-cold eyes. "So he didn't die. Now let's get back to our main goal. The wizard."  
  
After a few hours of walking, the group sees what looks like a big green city. Argyle's eyes light up as he sees this. "The City of OZ. We made it!"  
  
The group walks up to a large metal gate and Jarod slams the knocker. A silver disc slides open as they are greeted by a guard. "Yes?"  
  
For a few seconds, Jarod is speechless. "Dad?"  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
Jarod shakes his head. Nobody here is who he or she is in real life. A few similarities, but they aren't the same people from his reality. "Sorry. We want to see the wizard."  
  
"He's busy." The metal disk slams back into place as Jarod keeps staring at the door.  
  
He uses the doorknocker a second time, causing the guard to answer again. "What?"  
  
"We need to see the wizard."  
  
"I told you, he's busy." The guard goes to close the metal disk again but Jarod stops him.  
  
"But I want to get home to my family. I've only met them once and I'm sure they're worried about me. I need to see the wizard so I can see them again." Jarod spills his heart for the guard, bringing about a sigh.  
  
"I've never known my parents. I can't let somebody else go through that same pain." The guard shuts the disk and pulls the door open. "Go down the hall, third door on your right."  
  
As the group walks in, Jarod looks around in the inside of OZ. It's striking how similar it is to the inside of the Centre. "This needs to end soon before I get locked up again."  
  
Jarod and the rest of the people follow the directions as they end up in a large room. A giant floating head greets the four members. "What do you want?"  
  
"Mr. Parker?" Now Jarod is really confused.  
  
"I am the great and powerful OZ." The head's voice echoes through the room scaring everybody but Jarod. The confusion is too great to register fear.  
  
"Never mind. I want to go home." He turns to Argyle.  
  
"I want a brain."  
  
Miss Parker is the next one. "I want a heart."  
  
Broots starts to shake. "I, I, I wa, want some c, courage."  
  
"I know what you all want." The head's voice shouts back at the group.  
  
"Then why did you have to ask us?" Jarod speaks out fo curiosity.  
  
"Silence. The all powerful OZ works in strange ways." Jarod looks to the floor and sees a wire running towards a curtain.  
  
He holds the wire up to show the floating head. "What's this for? And why is there a curtain over there?"  
  
"Pay no attention to that." Jarod starts to walk towards the curtain as the head follows him. "What are you doing? Ignore the curtain."  
  
Jarod pulls the curtain open for the biggest shock of this dream. "Sydney? What are you doing here?"  
  
The older man looks at Jarod out of confusion. "Do I know you? How do you know my name?"  
  
"Okay. I give up. You guys got me." Jarod throws his hands into the air out of frustration. "What's going on?"  
  
He looks back at Sydney. "So you're the Wizard of OZ?"  
  
Sydney grins as his hands slide into his pants pockets. "That is correct."  
  
"Then tell me how to go home."  
  
The grin doesn't leave Sydney's face. "Just wake up."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Wake up Jarod." Sydney grabs Jarod's shoulder and starts to shake him. "Jarod, wake up."  
  
A blinding light engulfs his vision as he opens his eyes. The New York skyline comes into focus as Jarod sees Miss Parker, Broots, and Sydney standing over him. A feeling of panic strikes him as he realizes this is reality and his captors have him. He starts to struggle.  
  
"Relax Jarod." Miss Parker smiles. "As far as the Centre knows, you're in Dallas."  
  
Sydney sighs as he helps Jarod sit up. "Welcome back."  
  
"You looked dead. If you're okay, we'll leave." Parker keeps looking at him.  
  
Jarod stands up and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm good." He turns to walk away smiling over his shoulder. "See you guys again soon." 


End file.
